The 11^th International Lawasia (Law Association of Asia and Pacific) Moot Competition which was held from the 10^th to the 15^th of August, made Colombo her home this year. Lawasia is an annual moot competition held in parallel with the Lawasia Conference targeting students of the legal field and youngsters that have a knack for logical legal argumentation from across the world. Though the visit was short, it did not fall short of delivering upon its mandate found in the Lawasia International website “We meet to uphold the time honoured values of man and celebrate the sharing of knowledge and ideas, and of learning whilst embracing the diversities of the world we live in, believing that man’s greatest moment is a moment in time of warm embrace and acceptance for his fellow human being. “. Lawasia 2016 was indeed a microcosm of diversity, not only in opinion but also in community as fourteen teams from not only the oriental part of the world but also the great West, gathered atop one platform to represent conflicting opinions in the art of Mooting.

Mooting is an argumentative exercise where two teams; one representing the Claimant/ Prosecution in a court of Law and the other deliberating on behalf of the Defendant, submit their oral testaments before an esteemed panel of judges. Prior to the oral rounds, a team which is usually composed of two to three persons are required to make a Written Submission detailing the team stance which is then shared with the opponents.

The Moot problem for this year’s competition was based on an arbitration between two tea companies on the grounds of breach of contract formed between the two enterprises and violation of Intellectual Property laws.
The mooting team of Horizon Campus composed of Ms. Samadhi Cooray, Mr. Chamath Perera and Ms. Chiranthi Senanayake was voted by the fellow participants as the team that best encapsulated the overall spirit of the Lawasia Mooting Competition; the team that demonstrated not only their oratorical capabilities but other characteristics such as diplomacy, compromise and ability to accept unity in the diversity.

The incumbent Chair of the Lawasia Mooting Standing Committee, Mr. Raphael Tay along with the Organisers of the 11^th International Lawasia Moot Competition must be wholeheartedly congratulated for the memorable experience granted to all those who loves conflict in the form of rational argument and Horizon Campus is proud to be part of this international exercise and bring Sri Lanka’s name to the limelight.